As Consumers Energy ponders the fate of its 13 hydropower dams, nearby residents push to keep them operational. But Consumers officials have said they won’t allow customers to absorb the $781 million cost of doing so.
A Detroit senator wants Michigan prison populations to be counted in the communities they’re from instead of prison locations. The change could make a big difference in how political districts are crafted, especially in rural areas.
Munson Healthcare, northern Michigan’s largest employer, will be limiting services at rural hospitals while boosting them in Traverse City. Officials cite staff shortages and rising patient demand for virtual options.
Michigan’s wild places — and the fish and wildlife that call them home — are under threat as warmer temperatures cause species to migrate northward and rivers to overheat. Advocates called for more resources to protect Michigan’s fish and game from those changes.
It’s easy to take things for granted, like the ability to move freely in your community, the ease at which you can go to your local store and buy fresh produce for your dinner table. It’s time we think about the people that work hard to put that produce on our tables.
Michigan can’t foist the energy transition on rural communities without their consent, but instead should build bridges that demonstrate we are all in this together.
The auto industry is getting billions to build battery plants on rural land, while taxpayers pay for contaminated plants left behind. Will history repeat itself? Or will Michigan forge a new path?
The number of dark sky protected spaces is growing in Michigan, with visitors coming from across the country to see how the state’s glassy waters reflect the night sky.
Housing for immigrant workers on dairy farms is often tucked away and largely exempt from inspections. Advocates say that can lead to poor conditions. ‘You have no one to protect you,’ one worker says.
Right now in the state legislature there’s a bill to ensure that farmers don’t have to waste an entire crop just because they couldn’t repair their equipment.
A rural Michigan power cooperative has agreed to buy up to two-thirds of the plant’s power for roughly another 28 years. Other hurdles to a restart have yet to be cleared, including an application for a federal loan.
In Roscommon County, fewer than 4 in 10 adults are in the workforce. The northern Michigan vacation haven is symptomatic of a statewide worker shortage crisis that has some looking for creative solutions.
Military officials announced they will install groundwater treatment systems around the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base to clean up chemical compounds linked to serious health issues.
It’s a high-stress job with middling pay. With other jobs aplenty, ambulance services are struggling to find, train and hire paramedics and EMTs, with the gap expected to grow this decade.
Only 33 of 83 counties are served by a community college. This makes it more difficult and expensive for students from generally poorer and more rural counties to take advantage of the Michigan Reconnect program.
The Michigan Sierra Club is urging U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow to add the proposal to the farm bill. The designation would keep motorized vehicles from a small portion of Ottawa National Park but won’t restrict hunting, fishing or camping.
Consumers Energy is weighing what to do with old, hydropower dams that cost more to operate and maintain than the value of the energy they provide. But removing the dams has consequences for major rivers and local economies.
It’s mice, shrews and voles for the eastern massasauga rattlesnake. But you'll never guess how GVSU researchers learned it. Double spoiler: They looked at poop.
